Almost the end

Sorry guys its been a while since I last posted. School just picked it up a few notches. Last week I had a ton of projects, papers, presentations, etc. This week we have finals, so I am studying for those and trying to get packed up. I leave early Thursday morning, 7 am to be exact. Which means a taxi to the airport somewhere around 4:30 or 5 in the morning. So pretty much I just won't go to sleep the night before.

A couple weekends ago Evan and I went to Paris. It was really awesome. I had heard some mixed reviews from people, it seemed like they either loved it and really didn't like it. The weather was awesome the 3 days we were there, so I think that added a lot to the city. But there were a ton of awesome places to see. We went up the Eiffel Tower, went into the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa, walked down the Champs-Elyseey (however you actually spell that) and saw the Arc de Triomphe (again, not sure on the spelling). We ended up getting through the weekend pretty cheaply. We just kind of snacked throughout the day, got a sandwich here and there, and our hostel was pretty cheap. It was quite a ways outside the heart of the city, but it was a cool little place and only 20 euros a night. We did the trip up and back on the train, because we had some leftover days on out Eurail passes. We ended up having to come back to Bilbao first-class (sucks, I know) because the rest of the train was booked. In the end, the trip was sweet and was a nice final vacation for us. I have now been to Rome, Florence, Venice, along the southern coast of France, Paris, Madrid, Sevilla, Barcelona, and maybe 4 or 5 cities within the Basque Country. Not too bad.

So that's pretty much the story for now, I'm sure there is a lot that I am leaving out but honestly my brain is a little fried and I should go study or pack. But I am home in 3 days, which means I will be seeing a lot of you pretty soon. And for those of you I won't see, my cell phone will be back working again so give me a call or leave me a message on facebook or an email. I'd love to hear from all of you guys. I am really excited to be coming home, although it is really weird to start looking around and realizing that I've only got a couple more days in this place. Being in one place, rather than traveling all the time, has made me really attached to this place and some of the friends that I have made who I have spent a ton of time with. But we will be able to stay in touch and some of them I know I will be able to see again, which is very encouraging. And I have a ton to look forward to this summer and back at Westmont in the fall. For all of you from Westmont reading this, I can't wait to be back there and hang out with all of you. As much as I have loved it here I have really missed that place and missed all of my friends. I've felt kind of out of the loop and apart from that community, which I am really pumped about throwing myself back into.

So, that's it. Next time you guys here from me it will be from the good old U.S of A!

To Burgos!

Hola familia y amigos! Que tal? I hope everyone is doing swell, I am doing great. The guys and I just got back from an overnight trip to Burgos with our program. Burgos is a city just outside the Basque Region. We saw the cathedral there, which was very impressive and we went on a hike this morning along the Camino de Santiago, which is a thousand year old trail that runs from near the French border all the way to Galicia, which is right near Portugal. Supposedly James is buried there in Galicia where the pilgrimage ends. The entire trip takes about a month do complete, when walking about 25 kilometers a day. We only did a small portion of it, about 12 kilometers. But it was a really nice day, we got some sun for a change. It was somewhere around 80 degrees, which is the hottest temperature we've experienced on the trip so far. There have been a few things on my mind lately so it was a nice chance to just be outside and walk, think, pray and just be quiet. God has definitely been faithful to answer my prayers when I have been patient and truly had faith that He was hearing me and that he would bless me with the desires of my heart. The Lord has taken me on a ride these past few months and I'm just trying to go wherever He leads me. I have found something very comforting in the fact that I really have no clue what lies ahead for me and I have pretty much zero plans. While it does freak me out at times, I always am reminded that as long as I am seeking after the Lord and truly desiring to be where he wants me to be, I can not make a wrong move. I don't need to know where my next step is taking me, and honestly, I have found it much more comforting not to know. The less control I feel means more control in the hands of God, and less of a chance for me to screw it up. I'm just trying to be open to opportunities that come across my path and be willing to go anywhere and everywhere that God calls me.

Here is a passage that I want to share with you guys that I read today from Exodus. I hope it encourages those of you who maybe question your capabilities when it comes to speaking about the Lord. I have struggled with this and recently I have come to realize that God can and will use anyone and everyone to do the work that He has laid out before His people. None of us are too young or too insignificant. A lack of knowledge or a lack of a high level of speech do not hold us back. Exodus 4:10-12 (after God tells Moses to leads the Israelites out of Egypt):

"Moses said to the Lord, 'O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither 

in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of 

speech and tongue.'

The Lord said to him, 'Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.'"

I strongly believe that the devil feeds us these lies of our perceived 

incapability in order to keep us from doing God's work and spreading 

the gospel. Be careful not to fall into this trap, because I know it is a dangerous one. And take great comfort in knowing that God is so 

much bigger than any of our shortcomings.

That's all I've got for now, I'm home in a little less than 3 weeks, and I will get to see a lot of you, which I am pumped about. Keep on

keeping on my friends.

4 weeks left

4 weeks from today I will be on a plane back to the States. It's crazy. It seems like just yesterday I was standing outside of my new apartment, locked out with all my bags and no way in. It was an uncomfortable start to this trip, but now I can easily call this place home. I love the pace at which life here moves and the community that I feel here. I had a coffee today and read by the main plaza in my town and there were tons of people out: parents with their kids running around, kicking soccer balls and riding little bikes. Old ladies sitting around having a cup of coffee. Old men walking their dogs around. There is so much life here and everyone always seems to be out and about, experiencing what this place has to offer.

My time here has been different than I expected, but so much more fulfilling. I envisioned myself traveling all over Europe with a couple of my best friends and always looking forward to the next thing. But what has really been amazing to see is how much I love just spending time in Getxo, in downtown Bilbao, with the friends that I have made here and have gotten really close to. If you had told me at the beginning that I would make the kind of friends that I have made and would be legitimately sad to have to say goodbye to them, I probably would have said you were nuts. But after only 3 months being here, and maybe only a couple months of knowing some of these people, I am amazed at how close we have become. I have made friends from Spain, Germany, England, Sweden, France, just off the top of my head. It has been such a blessing to feel so at home and do a part of the action in a place that I have only been for 3 months.

So, not to dwell on the fact that my time here is nearing an end, because it really bums me out, lets talk about my recent literary endeavors. First off, read your Bible! I have found myself recently working through Genesis, which I have been approaching more as a piece of literature rather than trying to obtain a spiritual lesson. When read like you would read a novel, it is awesome. We often forget how incredible these historical events are, and how much of a gift it is that they are recorded for us and that we can read about them today, however many thousands or millions of years later.

Other than that, I just finished "The Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for some excellent writing and a little bit of a challenge. If your going to read it, be prepared to really focus on what you're reading, and then be prepared to be blown away by his writing. You will probably miss a lot, like I did, but it is still very worth it. Its not very long, but its chock-full of awesome lines and it takes a while to read. An amazing side note about the author, Joseph Conrad: He was born in Russia, joined the armed forces in France, smuggled guns into Spain, and didn't speak a word of English until he was 21 years old. He wrote one of the most influential American novels ever written, with an incredible command of the language, and he didn't speak a word of it until about how old I am now. It would be like me going and learning Italian next year and then writing a masterpiece in Italian a decade later. Pretty crazy.

Today I just started "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey. I have never seen the movie, and I'm glad because then I can read this with a clean slate in my mind and no preconceived notions about what I'm about to read. So far its awesome, the main character McMurphy seems hilarious and I like the writing style. It seems a little less demanding than Heart of Darkness, which will be a much welcomed change of pace.

So not that you guys really care about what I'm reading, but I thought maybe someone was looking for a book to read and I could be of expert advice, as I often am. Nothing else too exciting to report, other than the Lakers being the #1 seed, which you probably already know about. Until next time, don't do drugs and make sure you keep your fingernails trimmed. I love you all who are reading this, except for the random people that stumble across the blog. In your case, I don't love you like I love my friends and family, but I love you in the sense that I am called to love everyone. So I guess I do love all of you who are reading this. Tata for now. Thanks for reading. Sorry I'm random. 

Where do I begin...

Any suggestions? Okay lets start with Italy. I apologize in advance for not being able to include anywhere close to everything, not even a fraction, because so much happened and it has been a whirlwind last couple of weeks. Fabrice, Evan and I flew to Rome to start off spring break, or semana santa (holy week). Tyler flew out from Boston to meet up with us and epicness ensued. In Rome we saw the Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon, the Vatican Museum (including the Sistine Chapel), St. Peter's Basilica, and, oh yeah, the pope. We randomly decided to go to St. Peter's on Palm Sunday and were wondering why it was so dang crowded. Then we here music and then a speech and realize its the pope speaking in 5 different languages. It was pretty incredible. Not that I'm a huge pope fan or anything, but it was cool to see probably the most important living figure in the world.

Then we hopped on a train to Florence, which is an awesome city. The highlight of the entire trip for me as far as what I saw was the David in Academia. You've all seen pictures of it, but they don't even come close to doing it justice. It is absolutely huge and is really perfect. I stood and looked at it for about an hour. Its easily the best piece of art I've seen, although the Sistine Chapel was pretty impressive.

After Florence we hopped on another train to Venice. It was a little more touristy I think because its just smaller and more crowded. The best part of Venice was the charcoal sketch that we bought. We saw this guy, Marco, doing a charcoal sketch off the top of his head of a image of Venice: building-lined river, bridges, gondola, the whole nine yards. We watched him for about a half hour and then decided that for 20 euros we had to buy it. We'll all be living together next year, so we'll fire it up on the wall in our place.

And, by the way, this entire time we pretty much ate nothing but pizza and gelato. I'm talking each one maybe 3 times a day, with some pasta mixed in once in a while for a change of pace.

Now I'll get to the good stuff. When we returned from Italy (after an overnight train, waking up to the French Riviera, passing through Nice, Monte Carlo...not too bad) we were just in awe of how much God had blessed us and how grateful we were for our experience, and that we could share it with our best friends. Beautiful weather followed us everywhere we went, we met some really cool people, we got lucky with some awesome hostels, and all of the obstacles or kinks that could have inhibited our travels just got worked out. Back in Bilbao it was terrible weather, just pouring rain, but we went for a stroll anyway, and found ourselves under a covering downtown beneath the library. Our separate conversations all led to topics about God, where we're at spiritually, what we want for the future. The three of us ended up chatting together for a couple hours or so. Just passionate, truth-seeking conversation. We were all wowed by the fact that from this day forward, we have the privilege to be life-long seekers of Jesus and His one and only truth. We all expressed how much we want to become the men God wants us to be and seek Him above all else. Then Easter morning we had some time to sit and pray and just be in God's presence more than anything. By the time Tyler left, we were all really bummed to see him go, but were so excited for the place that God has brought us all and our newfound eagerness for letting Him shape us and mold our lives.

After the farewell we went to Madrid and Sevilla, two amazing cities. We had a lot of time to talk, relax and reflect, because Italy pretty much wiped us out. We saw the painting Guernika, in Madrid, the massive cathedral in Sevilla, and had a really great time. We were beat when we finally got back to Bilbao, but so thankful for an incredible two weeks.

In the end, nothing that I saw, no one I met, no city or incredible food came even close to matching the experience I had with those guys following the Lord and hearing His call. The fact alone that I'm able to study abroad is blessing enough. And God has been so faithful to me and has really showed me a lot about the joy of spending time in His Word, spending time in prayer and just being still and knowing that He is God. If I tried to convey to you everything that God has been stirring inside me I'd be here all day, so I won't say much more. But to anyone reading this that wants to chat with me about this stuff, I would love to. Just leave me a comment on this post and we'll get in touch and talk away.

I want to finish with a verse I read today from Phillipians 3:7-11. I would love to be able to speak this from my own lips and have it be 100% true. It's something that I'm striving for and I hope that all of you read this and are encouraged to do the same: 

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow to attain to the resurrection from the dead." 

Athletic!

So this weekend was awesome. Our friends from San Sebastian (about an hour away) came to stay with us for a couple nights. One of the girls is a friend from Westmont and its always fun to see a familiar face. We went to a cideria on Friday night. At ciderias, you pay an up front amount for your food and drinks. You get a four course meal and all the cider you want. The first course was some chorizo with salsa and green peppers and this things made of black beans and rice. The second course was a tortilla (basically an omelet). Then for the main course you have a choice between a few options, I went with the duck. Boy did I make a brilliant choice. Let me quote my buddy Rafael after he tried a bite of the 'pato': "It's everything I've ever wanted in a woman, except in duck form." Make of that what you will, but I'll just tell you it was some of the best meat I've ever had. Then for dessert they served some kind of fruit with a jam and some cream stuff and cheese. It was a great meal. For the cider, you go to these huge barrels in the wall with a small spout that shoots the cider out into a bucket thats about 5-6 feet from the wall. You take your glass and catch the cider down close to the ground a few feet from the wall and then move your glass closer and closer. It comes out all bubbly from hitting the glass from so far away and its pretty dang good.

Then on Saturday we went to Sopelana with the girls. It was a cold, somewhat foggy day, but it was awesome. Over the last few years I've really grown to love the ocean and waves. Never mind that I'm a terrible surfer and wish I could surf more. But I just love watching waves break and seeing all the different types. The waves this day were very slow to develop and were pretty decent size. The waves at the beach back in Getxo are over seemingly an instant after they develop. So it was fun to see these long waves start pretty far out and just creep closer and closer to the shore. Then on Saturday night we went into Bilbao and walked around a pretty cool part of town and bought a few things. It was sweet to be out around that time, maybe 8 at night. The streets are pretty full on Saturday nights like that and it was fun to feel like we were out when others were out.

Then Sunday we went to the Athletic de Bilbao soccer game. They play in the Premier League with FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and all the other top teams in Spain. They played some team I had never heard of and we got the W 2-0. We were in the first row right on the corner. I could have easily spit on the guy when he was taking a corner kick right in front of me. Unfortunately there was a security guard right there, so that spoiled my potential fun. The first goal was about ten minutes in right in our end. Our player had it near the opposite corner and sent a bending cross right towards us, over the goalkeeper's hands, over the defender's head, right at a running Athletic attacker who popped a header right in the back of the net. The place erupted, I was waving my freshly purchased Athletic red and white striped scarf in the air, high-fiving the people around me. It was a pretty awesome moment. The cool part about the team is that they field only Basque players, so there is a really cool sense of pride and a homegrown feel to the team, the stadium and the fans. It would be kinda like the Lakers only using guys who were born and raised in the LA area. I immediately thought of Jordan Farmar, who grew up in LA, played for UCLA, and is now with the Lakers. Imagine a team full of these kind of guys, and thats what you've got in Athletic. The bars around town fly the Athletic red and white flag outside, the pubs pack out with fans watching the game, and everyone has got on their team scarf. I saw my Spanish teacher walking in downtown on our way to the game wearing her red and white scarf with her boyfriend. She was all pumped up and ready to cheer.

Now I'm back to the grind of classes (not that they're that tough, but you still have to do the work). I've got a test tomorrow, which I don't really know what to expect from, so we'll see. Then on Friday I will be flying to Rome with the guys and we're meeting up with Tyler, our friend who is studying in Boston. I'm so pumped to see that guy, not to mention see the Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum and everything else in Italy. We're heading to Florence then to Venice after Rome. Then we're hopping on the train for about 24 hours along the French coast to get back to Bilbao and send Tyler off. Then we head down to Madrid for a couple days and then Sevilla for a couple more. Will I be tired by the end...yes. Will it be worth it...also yes. So that's the itinerary, I'm not sure if I'll get another post up until I am back from all of that, but I'll try to squeeze an update post in here if I get a chance.

Until next time, please wear as much UCLA gear as possible and cheer for two during the tourney, because I will sadly be missing at least the first couple rounds. For me, missing the NCAA tournament is kind of like missing Christmas morning. Tears very well may be shed at the thought of missing a 14 seed from the MVC upsetting and ACC powerhouse, or a last second game-winning heave from deep, causing the court to be flooded with fans and players and tears and screams. I just watched Tyus's 4.8 second dash to the championship last night and it sent chills up my spine. Gotta love March.

Alright, that was long. You may or may not have made it through to the end, kudos if you did. Adios! 

School school school

Sorry I haven't written a blog in such a long time, I've gotten a lot busier recently with school picking up. I had a test yesterday, one this morning, a spanish novel to read by Monday and another test on Tuesday. But once that is over, its off to Italy for a week. Even though its been a little busy, its been a good stretch. I've been meeting a lot of new people and working on my Spanish. Its getting a lot better and I'm starting to use it more and more. A couple nights ago, we hung out with our three friends from Germany. They are living and working here as nannies and they speak English, Spanish, German, and French. It was pretty cool, they were teaching us some German, some Spanish, and we were teaching them some English slang. They speak pretty good English, but they wanted to know some more common sayings that younger people use. And my intercambio is really cool. We've met twice, I've gotten to work on my Spanish quite a bit with her and hopefully we'll get to hang out some more. Its nice to have a local connection.

It has rained for the last couple days here and on Tuesday it hailed like crazy. I got off the bus to walk home and golf balls started falling from the sky. Ok, maybe not quite golf balls, but maybe peanuts or something like that. But they were falling fast and furiously. It was pretty cool, I don't get that very often back home.

Last weekend Evan and I went to Santander, which is about an hour and a half bus ride west along the coast. It was easily the coolest place I've ever been. We spent about 7 or 8 hours just walking the coastline and climbing the rocks out to the water and hiking up these hills to where a cliff dropped off into the ocean. There was this really sweet golf course that went right up to the edge of a cliff and I would have killed to be able to play it. 

I was in awe the entire day. It seemed like we traveled to the edge of the world (as you can see in the picture of Evan looking down into the water). I don't know why this place isn't talked about more in the Basque Country or, to be quite honest, in the rest of the world. I can't imagine there being a more beautiful coastline.

Well that is all for now. This weekend we've got some friends from San Sebastian coming to visit and we're going to an Athletic Bilbao futbol game on Sunday for Fabrice's birthday, which should be awesome. I'll let you all know how it goes. 

Baloncesto!

So this past weekend was a good one. I told you about Friday in my last post and on Saturday me and the guys went to Vitoria, which is the capital of the Basque Country. It was a really cool city. It was sort of split into two between the old town (parte vieja)and the new town. The new town had a bunch of really sweet parks and buildings. Around 4 pm or so, which is siesta time in Spain, we found this really peaceful park where we all just crashed for a while. The sun was out and it felt so good. I just laid down on the grass and put on the new Jack Johnson cd, and then passed out for about an hour. It was one of the more peaceful places I've been. Most people are at home sleeping or something at that time so the streets are very quiet. Here's a picture of my napping spot.

Then on Sunday we went to the beach with a group of about 9 of us. One of my friends, Ainhoa, bought a volleyball so we hit the ball around for a while. There isn't a net, but it was still cool. Monday night, I cooked up mom's world famous chicken/vegetable stir-fry. Evan was my wingman, and we cooked it pretty dang well. The barbeque sauce here is a lot closer to tomato sauce than back home, so it wasn't an exact replica. And they didn't have bean sprouts, which are a key ingredient, but it turned out excellent.

Today we got back from classes and went and hit the volleyball around a little more, then Fabrice and I went to the park down the street from our apartment and played some pickup basketball with a couple kids, one was 16 and I think the other kid was the same age. I haven't touched a basketball since the beginning of January, which is by far the longest I have gone without touching a ball since I was probably two years old, so this felt really good. One kid, Nelson, is from the Phillipines and has only been here for 8 months. I tried speaking to him both in Spanish and English and he didn't seem to speak either one very well. He and I were on a team and we took down Fabrice and Jason (the other kid) 16-13. We kicked it up a notch at the end to get the w, because we're clutch like that. I asked Nelson in Spanish if he knew Kobe Bryant and he perked up and smiled. He said he also knew Iverson and Michael Jordan. I mentioned Pau to him and he smiled again and mentioned that he played for the Lakers. Then I told him that my brother went to the game yesterday and he thought that was so cool. They said they were playing again tomorrow so we'll probably head back for another game.

Right now, Evan is trying one of his mom's recipes. It's some kind of chicken and pasta. I'm pretty pumped for it. Our dinners have been really good so far. We're all bringing our moms' recipes and way of cooking to the table and we've been making some pretty good stuff. We've gotten creative too and tried to come up with some of our own stuff. So far I wouldn't say that we've had a bad meal. But my personal favorite, of course, was the stir-fry. You just can't beat it.